Set up camp on Donner’s Point… as long as you’re 300 feet away from the water!
North Manitou Island offers 15,000 acres of wilderness with a visitor use concept that emphasizes solitude, self-reliance and a sense of exploration. Camping on North Manitou is “open”: you choose the campsite! However, camping is strictly prohibited within 300 feet of Lake Michigan. The primary visitor activities include hiking, swimming, back-country camping, and backpacking. The island itself is home to a large whitetail deer herd and is the summer range for a variety of raptors (including the bald eagle). Solitude is easy to find. Leave no trace camping is the rule. There is one campground in the village area, which does have a group fire ring as well as water. The Village Campground is the ONLY place on the island that a fire is all
Walk through the giant Swenson Barn over by old Crescent Dock. There are lots of great campsites nearby as well.
owed. Camping in the campground is not mandatory. Camping is permitted anywhere on the island that is 300 feet away from the Lake Michigan high water mark, lakes, streams, ponds, springs, buildings, or other camps.
Camping fees for North manitou are $10.00 per night per back-country permit (4 adults are allowed on a permit) or $20.00 a night for groups of 5-10. Every group needs a National Park Pass, which cost $25.00 each for a weeklong pass. These fees can be paid upon check-in in the Manitou Island Transit ticket office before you get on the boat.
The Bournique cabin is a beautiful find in the middle of the woods!
ATTENTION CAMPERS: THE NATIONAL PARK DOES NOT TAKE RESERVATIONS FOR THE CAMPING PERMITS. AS LONG AS YOU HAVE BOAT RESERVATIONS, YOU ARE GUARANTEED CAMPING PERMITS. THESE CAN BE PURCHASED WHEN YOU CHECK IN FOR THE BOAT.
NPS Link: http://www.nps.gov/slbe/planyourvisit/nmicamping.htm
MANITOU ISLAND TRANSIT IS AUTHORIZED WITHIN SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE TO PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING SERVICES: FERRY TRANSPORTATION SERVICE TO NORTH AND SOUTH MANITOU ISLAND, MOTORIZED GUIDED LAND TOURS OF SOUTH MANITOU ISLAND, TRANSPORTATION OF PERSONAL WATERCRAFT, AND CHARTER TRANSPORTATION SERVICES TO NORTH AND SOUTH MANITOU ISLANDS.